I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1060: Terms of Reconciliation]

By the end of October, there were less than ten days left until the premiere of the first film from Firefly Group's year-end lineup.

Firefly planned to release three films this year: Ted on Thanksgiving weekend, November 13; Elizabeth on December 4; and The Waterboy on December 11.

Ted was a project closely monitored by Eric himself, needless to say.

Elizabeth was a biopic about Queen Elizabeth I, produced in collaboration with the British company Working Title Films, starring Cate Blanchett. It primarily aimed for this year's Academy Awards. Although Working Title, controlled by Polygram due to Seagram's acquisition of Polygram, became a company tightly knit with Universal Pictures, Julia initially turned down the role in Working Title's Notting Hill for this reason. Fortunately, the production and distribution rights for Elizabeth were finalized before Seagram's acquisition of Polygram, so the collaboration went unaffected.

Finally, The Waterboy was another comedy from Adam Sandler, following the success of The Wedding Singer during last Easter. Coincidentally, December 11 fell between a period that was typically slow for film releases during Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, with a production budget of only $23 million, the film faced minimal pressure to turn a profit.

Aside from Firefly's trio of films, MGM had Mission: Impossible 3 scheduled for November 20 and The Fast and the Furious set for January 1 of the following year; Fox planned to release The Horse Whisperer on November 6 and Star Wars: Episode I on December 18; while Columbia had the thriller Urban Legend on November 13 and the romantic comedy Stepmom airing on December 25. Given just these nine films from Firefly's slate, the year-end release schedule was already packed.

The other three major studios were also in the mix -- with Universal releasing two movies: Patch Adams and The Sixth Sense, and Paramount with two films as well: Star Trek IX: Insurrection and the animated classic Mulan. Warner Bros. was only set to release a romantic comedy titled You've Got Mail, leaving them rather overlooked.

As for independent films from the second or third-tier companies, those largely went unnoticed by the big seven studios.

...

With the tide of media conglomeration underway, several second and third-tier film companies that had emerged in the '80s, like New Line, Miramax, Orion, and Carolco, either got absorbed by major studios or faced imminent bankruptcy. Any new independent film companies gaining the attention of the big seven, such as the once-prominent Lionsgate or Summit Entertainment, still had yet to pose any real threat to the major studios.

At the same time, while traditional media giants were completing their consolidation, new online media was rapidly emerging. These past few years had undoubtedly been the peak for media power in Hollywood. Furthermore, there was no doubt that the Firefly Group, controlling a significant portion of Hollywood, had become the undisputed media titan in North America.

As the absolute controller of Firefly, following the acquisition with Columbia Pictures, Eric had been in the spotlight lately, attracting significant media attention.

Eric, however, had little time to care about all that. Once back in Los Angeles, he dove into the post-production studio at Firefly Studios, focusing intently on the initial editing of footage for Gravity.

But even without direct access to Eric, media outlets quickly discovered another sensational story: Caroline had injured her foot.

The once-shy tour guide had transformed into Eric Williams' "Pepper," possessing an impressive education from Cambridge and Harvard, along with a noble lineage and a stunning appearance. She practically seemed like the perfect candidate for the queen of the Firefly empire.

With discussions ramping up, the media resumed their scrutiny of the women around Eric. It was all the talk, with a mix of gossip and hearsay, and some tabloids even dragged his two little ones into the story.

Over the years, Eric never deliberately concealed the fact that he had two children. Anyone paying a little attention would find out. However, out of concern for their safety, Eric had set a firm boundary for the media: absolutely no revealing photos, names, or addresses of the kids.

Even though Eric was a public figure, he was also a massively influential billionaire. In a society like the United States, crossing the wealthy usually bore greater consequences than offending the powerful. Numerous politicians and even presidents had been embroiled in scandals, yet you rarely heard of individuals from the Forbes list facing media scrutiny in the same way.

Thus far, everyone had respected the boundaries Eric laid down. The latest chatter surrounding his kids inevitably led back to discussions about Eric's wealth inheritance. While there were still six months to go until the next Forbes billionaire list was released, media analytics regarding the assets of the wealthy were constantly being updated.

Many speculated that once Yahoo went public, combined with Eric's wealth growth over the last year, his fortune could soar to an unprecedented $200 billion.

Such a staggering sum of wealth would inevitably mean hefty inheritance taxes, likely reaching into the hundreds of billions if he were to pass on his fortune, even if such matters were beyond his personal concern. Nonetheless, the topic sparked enthusiastic conversations among the public, as the thought of a single tax payment exceeding $100 billion left many stunned.

In the end, some media outlets and politicians advocating for inheritance tax reductions seized the opportunity to insert themselves into the discussion.

...

At Firefly Studios, with Yahoo's IPO date approaching, Eric remained occupied with discussions alongside Yahoo's executives and Chris to go over the details of the IPO.

In the Digital Domain's office loft, seated in a lounge area near the glass walls, light conversation inevitably drifted towards the recent buzz surrounding Eric.

Holding a cup of coffee, leaning back in his chair, Eric said to Chris, Ian Gurney, and others, "Honestly, I think if I can spend all my money before I die, that's the best scenario. Not leaving a dime for the IRS. And as for the kids, I'd rather they fend for themselves."

"That's a tall order," Chris chuckled. "Even without factoring in the annual returns, with a fixed asset total of $200 billion, if you live to be a hundred, you'd have to spend $8 million a day from now on."

"$8 million, huh?" Eric turned to the only woman at the table. "Tina, you ladies seem to know how to spend money. Help me figure out how I can get through $8 million a day."

After Jeff Locke's departure, Eric's personal pick, Tina Brown, had elevated to become one of Yahoo's new trio of executives, ranking alongside Ian Gurney and Steve Mitnick.

Hearing Eric's question, Tina pretended to think and, after a moment, chuckled, "Well, you'll have to let me try first."

Eric immediately displayed an exaggeratedly wary expression. "In that case, I'll just ask someone else."

Everyone burst out laughing.

After a few jokes, they finally got down to business.

Yahoo faced a complicating issue regarding a lawsuit concerning digital music copyrights with the big five record companies.

Earlier in the year, the surge of digital music piracy's impact on the physical record industry had erupted, coupled with the rise of the Fireflyer music player. The big five record companies initiated a nationwide crackdown on internet piracy, making Yahoo a target in the lawsuit.

Perhaps targeting Yahoo's vulnerability before the IPO, the record companies were quite rigid about reaching an out-of-court settlement with them.

"The big five still insist on three main conditions," Ian Gurney explained. "First, strengthen filtering or even banning pirated music on the portal and search engine. Second, we must allow five major record companies to open their own digital music store targeted at the Fireflyer player. The final condition is compensation; although they have lowered the sum, they are still insisting on $20 million in cash."

Eric asked in confusion, "If they achieve the first two terms, shouldn't they be satisfied? Why continue to insist on the $20 million in damages? That may be a fortune for an individual, but for the big five record companies, it seems like pocket change, doesn't it?"

Chris responded, "This seems to come down to their lawyers' insistence."

Eric immediately understood.

The American legal profession held its high status largely due to its profitability. The saying "economic foundations determine superstructure" was absolutely true. In cases involving major corporations, discussing fixed legal fees that reached millions was commonplace. Once a lucrative settlement was won, lawyers would take 30% or even more as their share.

Smoothing his coffee cup's surface, Eric inquired, "So, what's our stance now?"

"We discussed thoroughly," Ian Gurney replied. "Initially, we were too focused on the potential impact of this lawsuit on Yahoo's IPO. However, if we concede to the big five's conditions, not only would we severely harm our potential profits in digital music sales, but compromising goes against the very spirit of an open and shared internet platform. Thus, we've decided against settlement and will instead promote the concept of internet openness and sharing as Yahoo approaches its IPO, guiding media and public discourse. If the IPO succeeds, the big five won't have any leverage against Yahoo."

Ian's stance struck a noble chord.

However, upon reflection, if they could indeed sway public opinion, Yahoo could quickly change from a shameful copyright infringer into a crusader against conservative copyright holders, seeking justice for public access. Admittedly, that argument could be seen as hypocritical but would certainly align with mainstream internet values.

The key to this plan remained a matter of public relations.

Although Firefly's grasp over traditional print media was rather modest, their influence on television media was unparalleled, outmatching any other media power. As for emerging internet media, the Yahoo portal, which commanded 70% of North American website traffic, was effectively a Firefly stronghold.

Clearly, Ian and the others had crafted a detailed public relations strategy, and there certainly was no obstruction from the group's end in collaboration. After an extensive discussion on the scheme, Eric even made a call to Rupert Murdoch, hoping the mainstream newspapers under News Corporation could assist in their efforts.

It was worth noting that only the Twentieth Century Fox films, recently passed to Elisabeth under Murdoch's direction, could be considered a part of the Firefly Group. The FOX network merely existed in close alliance with Firefly. The larger portion, including extensive print media in the UK, Australia, and North America, as well as television networks in the UK and Asia, remained firmly under Rupert's personal control.

After a lifetime of effort, Murdoch wasn't about to relinquish that power, and Eric wasn't about to count on any favors.

However, Firefly now commanded asset levels tenfold compared to News Corporation. Murdoch understood the benefits of maintaining a cooperative relationship with Firefly. Hearing Eric's request over the phone, he promptly agreed.

...

After securing that commitment, they discussed the final details of the last stock incentive plan before the IPO. Ian Gurney, Steve Mitnick, and Tina Brown hurriedly took off -- one for New York to discuss specific public relations detail with ABC and FOX executives, another heading to San Francisco to review Yahoo's Silicon Valley branch, and Tina returned to Boston to supervise operations. With less than a month before the IPO, all three were in a whirlwind of activity.

After concluding their discussions, it was already evening. As Chris saw Ian Gurney and the others off in the parking lot, he didn't rush to leave but strolled along the studio pathways with Eric.

"Actually, regarding wealth inheritance, Eric, your asset scale is incredibly vast -- planning should start now. You don't really intend to hand half your fortune to the federal government someday, do you? Especially not if Elia and Kevin can't even inherit half of it."

To be fair, Eric didn't want that. He certainly didn't have a strong sense of social responsibility of hundreds of billions of dollars.

If possible, his joking remarks with Chris about spending all his money before he died reflected his true feelings. He maintained a rather pessimistic view on wealth inheritance. After all, he had been conditioned to think that wealth seldom survives more than three generations, making it hard for him to guarantee that there wouldn't be any wastrels among his descendants.

Eric wasn't hiding anything from Chris and candidly expressed his worries.

"That's not an insurmountable challenge," Chris laughed. "Just look at the Morgan family and the Rockefeller family -- they've survived a century. While they've stepped into the background, they still remain influential. It's not because their heirs are particularly outstanding, you know why?"

"Hmm?"

"Because these families have all used foundations or trusts for their wealth inheritance. Even if the founders of these families passed away many years ago, their wealth still follows the stringent rules of the family trust set up from the start. No heir can alter that. Moreover, as long as talented individuals emerge from these families, they can thrive anew on the deep-rooted foundation laid by their ancestors. You can ask Caroline and the others to help gather some information on that."

*****

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